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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23382277">The Circle AU</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ishouldwritemore/pseuds/ishouldwritemore'>ishouldwritemore</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supergirl (TV 2015)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU - The Circle, F/F, Social Isolation, Social Media, no really, slow-burn, the slowest of burns</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 14:54:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,823</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23382277</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ishouldwritemore/pseuds/ishouldwritemore</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Our eight players will all live in this building.  But they can't see or hear each other.  The only way they get to know each other is through a voice-activated platform called The Circle.They can choose to be whoever they want.  Themselves, another version of themselves, or someone completely different.  When they are in The Circle, players need to make friends and gain influence.  Because the most unpopular players are blocked and replaced.  At the end, the players will decide who's the most popular and the winner of $100,000.  In this game, you never know who you're playing against.  I'm Lucy Lane and this is The Circle.</p>
<p>or</p>
<p>What if the characters of Supergirl were in The Circle?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, minor Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Meet the Players</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     The scene opens with broad shots of an unidentifiable city, bright lights and skyscrapers fill the scene while club music thrums in the background. <em>"Welcome to the circle,"</em> The camera zooms in to a rooftop patio, empty save for a petite brunette in a form fitting dress, she continues,<em> "The real life game that asks 'how far would you go to be popular on social media if there were $100,000 at stake?'"</em></p>
<p>     The voice-over continues as we see quick shots of stylish apartment interiors and people moving in, <em>"Our eight players will all live in this building."</em> The camera pans down an empty hallway, showing shots of several numbered doorways. Finally one of those doors opens and the viewer sees a blonde woman spinning in a circle with her arms outstretched. <em>"But they can't see or hear each other. The only way they get to know each other is through a voice-activated platform called The Circle." </em> A scruffy young man can be seen tapping ineffectively on a TV screen before it cuts to a slow motion video of a raven-haired woman applying crimson lipstick in the bathroom mirror. <em>"They can choose to be whoever they want. Themselves, another version of themselves, or someone completely different. When they are in The Circle, players need to make friends and gain influence." </em> Though we can't see her face, the image cuts to a dark haired woman shrugging on a black leather jacket. <em>"Because the most unpopular players are blocked and replaced. At the end, the players will decide who's the most popular and the winner of $100,000." </em> The camera finally moves back to a shot of the brunette from earlier, with a devilish glint in her eyes she finishes, <em>"In this game, you never know who you're playing against. I'm Lucy Lane and this is The Circle."</em></p>
<p>     The show's logo finally appears, inter-cut with shots of local architecture before it skips to show a simple entryway as a man opens a blue and orange door. He's not even fully into the apartment before, "Oooooooo, damn Gina! Oh my gawd....I don't think we're in Kansas no more!" His leopard print suit looks oddly at home in the fully furnished luxury apartment as he drops his suitcase and does a little bounce on the bed. The screen cuts again to something clearly filmed in a studio. You see him against a green backdrop, fluffing his hair up and running a comb smoothly through his beard before doing a little shimmy for the camera. "I would like to be perceived as a real ass bitch in a fake ass world." The words appear over the screen as he says them and he blows a kiss before continuing, "sounds like a Miss America." Clearly whoever edited this together was a fan of YouTube-style scene cuts and ambient club music because it shows three more shots of him dancing and jumping in the air before it shows him speaking to the camera once again. "Hi everybody. I'm Jack and I'm 30 years old and am coming to you all the way from Merry Ole England!" We see a snapchat video of him showing off Big Ben, "I am a graphic designest and straight up hustler. When people first meet me they're like, 'Guurl...you're so confident, where do you get it from?' I say, 'Honey, it's because I'm FLAWLESS.' I feel like the key to being popular online is just being yourself, the camera never lies." His intro scene continues but mostly he just talks in circles around himself and flaunts his sequined suit like a disco ball. It ends with him back in his new apartment hanging a poster of David Bowie, "It is time to grace this wall with perfection! Let's see..." he steps back a few feet, "is it straight?"</p>
<p>     The narration returns,<em> "As that poster becomes the straightest thing in that apartment, let's meet the next Circle guest."</em></p>
<p>     The scene once more shifts to an entry way. This one has a short white hallway ending at a rustic wooden door with artfully hung plants spilling into view. A blonde woman comes bouncing into view, wearing a bright yellow sundress and carrying a small suitcase, "Oh my gosh! This is so cute!" She hurriedly runs from room to room, tripping over the coffee table and narrowly avoiding face-planting into the ground. She tosses her bag onto the couch before bounding over to the kitchen, fully squealing at the sight of food in the fridge. She grabs an apple and shoves it in her mouth before bouncing on the couch. Her eyes are lit with a childish wonder and excitement behind her thick-rimmed glasses, "This place is totally awesome!" Suddenly she's in the studio looking into the camera, "Do I - Are you ready? Oh, hi." she waves enthusiastically, "I'm Kara Danvers. I am 25 and a reporter from National City! I love potstickers and pizza and....oh! Puppies!...And lot's of other things that don't start with the letter 'P'." She kind of chuckles nervously at this and the scene cuts to several slow-motion videos of her falling in the studio when she was clearly trying to pose. "I'm on Instagram and I guess I have a lot of followers?" A camera reel starts going in the background showing dozens of pictures of her, tanned and toned, wearing short shorts and a sports bra at the beach with a friend, flexing her muscles in a bra and not much else, effortlessly lifting an ecstatic husky above her head. "I think it's because I post a picture with every dog I see, everyone always really like those!" There is a beat of silence as the camera zooms in on her utterly clueless face. "I'm coming to The Circle as a kind of rebellion I guess? My sister says that no one is real on social media and that the most popular people are the fake ones. I'm here to prove that if you have the courage to be yourself people will like you for you and no filter or fake image can compare to that." The final scene is of her settling on her bed, circling a pillow on her hands and knees before flopping onto it with a happy sigh.</p>
<p>
  <em>     "Seriously? No one told me they let golden retrievers into The Circle. But hold on to that optimism girl, you are going to need it for our next contestant."</em>
</p>
<p>     A black door is at the end of a white hallway. It slowly opens to reveal a pale woman with dark hair in business attire. She rolls her small suitcase into the living room before abandoning it by the TV. The bags under her eyes are visible as she makes her way into the lavish bedroom. She shows no reaction to her surroundings as she walks up to the edge of the bed and face-plants into it. The video cuts to a wide shot of the studio where at the very edge you can see the woman get roughly shoved into frame. It cuts again to her sitting expressionlessly in front of the camera. At an off screen cue, her lips turn up into a forced smile and she injects false cheer into her voice as she addresses the camera. "Hello, I'm Lena Luthor, I am 23 years old and i am the CEO of L-Corp, a multi-billion dollar company specializing in everything from solar power to the computer interface used on gaming platforms." She pauses to take a deep breath before continuing with a steely determination, "You probably remember it as LuthorCorp, the company led by a terrorist, but with my brother firmly behind bars, I want to lead our company in a better direction. I plan to make L-Corp a force of good." Something closer to a genuine smile crosses her face at the next line, "A plan that is apparently reliant on good PR. When I told the board of directors I would do anything, this was not what I had in mind. I have no social media and do not want to be here. My goal is to be voted off as soon as possible and get back to running my company." There are no scene cuts or pictures displayed behind her image during her intro speech. The video cuts back to her face first in bed and subtitles appear so you can understand the words she says into the mattress "I have got to get out of here."</p>
<p>
  <em>      "Well, I guess if you're a billionaire, $100,000 isn't all that appealing. It's time to introduce our next player! ...I hope they're more cheery than you."</em>
</p>
<p>     This introduction is different, it's a snapchat video of a beautiful blonde woman, "Hi, my name is Lyra and I'm 26 from California," Dozens of pictures of her in different scenarios flash in the background, "I think I'm going to win The Circle, all the girls will want to be my friend and all the guys are gonna want to date me but...I do have a secret in store for the players." She presses a finger to her lips before the screen cuts to black.</p>
<p>     "I'm a dude." A scruffy young man in a cardigan stares back at the camera. "Hi my name is Winn, I am from California and do game design in Silicone Valley. But...in The Circle I will be playing the character Lyra, cuz I got the jokes but I'm using my girlfriend's pictures 'cuz she's gorgeous." Lyra dances on camera to join him and Winn twirls her around before dipping her into a kiss. "We've been together for two years now, and I still can't believe she agreed to go out with me." Pictures of him jumping weirdly high in the air are interlaced with clips of him sneaking around the set. "Like my name, I'm here to win. And we all know hot girls win online. Look out Circle, Lyra is coming to get you." Our final shot is of him tapping at his TV, "..Seriously, you aren't touch screen? You have to be. Where's the remote?"</p>
<p>
  <em>      "Dude, isn't tech your job?....Anyways, with our first four characters in, it's time to meet The Circle I keep talking about."</em>
</p>
<p>     A message flashes on all of the screens: 'WELCOME TO THE CIRCLE!' Kara squeals from where she was unpacking in her room and starts jumping up and down. Winn was also unpacking but runs into the living room to see the message on a bigger screen. It cuts to Jack, wandering into his kitchen. He tentatively asks, "can you hear me Circle?" Lena doesn't move.</p>
<p>     As if in response to Jack's question the screen shows a new message: THIS IS A VOICE ACTIVATED SYSTEM. The video starts cutting to clips of each of the players reading the instructions out loud. YOU MUST NOW SET UP YOUR PROFILE. YOU SHOULD SELECT ONE IMAGE FROM YOUR PRIVATE ALBUMS TO BECOME YOUR FIRST PROFILE PICTURE. YOU ONLY GET ONE CHANCE TO MAKE A FIRST IMPRESSION. It cuts to Lena, the only player we haven't seen reading, she has rolled over and is now staring at the ceiling. "Ugghh....Who cars?" she yells at the screen. "Nobody cares. Do people not have better things to do?"</p>
<p>
  <em>      "Not when you're offering them $100,000."</em>
</p>
<p>     The video goes back to Jack, now cuddled up on his couch with chile lime chips and a glass of wine. "Alright Miss Circle, take me to my profile!"</p>
<p>     Kara is now in the kitchen, a half-made sandwich temporarily abandoned on the counter. "Golly, I'm so excited. Circle, can you please take me to my pictures?" Several albums appear on her screen labelled: Holidays, Gym, Friends, Puppies and Just Me, "oooo....Circle, please open the Puppies album!"</p>
<p>
  <em>      "All players have multiple albums to choose from. These are completely private and can't been seen by anyone else."</em>
</p>
<p>     Jack is still curled up on his couch, "Miss Circle, please open the middle right photo, ooo yass queen. That's it. That's the one, I'm wearing black which feels very thinning and I'm smiling... Circle, set this as my profile picture!"</p>
<p>
  <em>      "Now remember, anyone can be anyone in the circle and some players choose to do just that."</em>
</p>
<p>     Winn is one his couch now, with a half-assembled logo monstrosity in front of him. "Hey Circle, open the top right picture." A selfie of Lyra, pouting into the camera fills the screen. "This is my favorite picture of her. And it will definitely attract the dudes...I think it's a strong option...but maybe we need to consider the ladies? Open the bottom right. Oh yeah, that's the one. Look at her being all cute! Nice and girl-next-door-ish. It highlights us in all our glory!" He high fives himself above his Legos before the camera cuts away.</p>
<p>     Lena is finally sitting up at the edge of her bed. "Circle. God, what a ridiculous name. Okay, Circle, I am under strict instructions not to hack you. So until I can get out of this damn place I have no phone, no internet and no connection to the outside world or my company. So if I want this hell to end I actually have to participate. Bring up my private albums." She finally commands with a defeated sigh, the screen dutifully displays her albums: Family, Boarding School, Business and Poses. "Oh god, I do not want to know which pictures from boarding school they have. Circle, open Business." There are only three pictures here, one that was clearly at a press conference where Lena is smiling bright and hopeful into the camera, a candid taken in her labs showing her deep in concentration and a third of her crouched down and speaking to a small child with a bald head and skin and bone frame. "Oh, I actually rather like those." She seems to soften for a moment looking at the picture of the child before straightening back up, "Well clearly, none of these will do. Circle, show me Poses." A series of photos fill the screen, all professional photos for magazines with Lena dressed to the nines and her signature blood red lipstick. "Circle top left please. I remember this photo..." She pauses to reminisce, a smirk sliding over her features, "The photographer told me to show some skin. He took this right before I fired him." The picture is of Lena staring murderously into the camera. With an impish grin she declares, "Circle set that as my profile picture." Then, as an afterthought, "Am I allowed to mention I'm related to a terrorist in my profile?"</p>
<p>     The video cuts back to Kara who is staring intently at the photos. One is a gorgeously framed shot of her holding a German Shepard on the beach at sunset; and her head is thrown back, mid-laugh. In the other she looks startled while she is stuffing her face with potstickers. "They're both such good photos....and those potstickers were so good...Nope come on Kara. You are here to have fun. Circle, set the image on the right as my profile."</p>
<p>
  <em>      "With profile pictures for our first four chosen, let's meet the next player."</em>
</p>
<p>     Another entry way: as the door opens the audience hears "Awhhh yeah buddy! This is sick! Ah brah, I got my own penthouse- what up?" A stocky man with slicked back hair and a cross necklace sits across from the camera wearing a shirt that's approximately two sizes too small. "Yeah buddy! What's up peeps! I'm Adam, I'm 25 years old, I'm from New York! I'm a bartender. And I'm the proudest Momma's Boy you're ever gonna meet." And for a moment, he seems sincere, and then he flexes. The visuals cut between him posing with his chest out to him running his hands over his gelled hair like it's the hood of a '67 Corvette, to him grinning at the camera with his eyebrows up and hands shrugging like, 'what you gonna do?' "First thing I do every morning? Check my social media. People would b lying if they said they didn't like my shirtless selfies posting updates! People like 'em. I can't help it, it is what it is! Look, real talk, I'm confident in myself, I know I got this, but if I see a blonde girl in the Circle, with a pretty smile ...that might be what brings me down. We'll see what happens. The final shot we see is him laying out an array of beauty supplies and treatments.</p>
<p>
  <em>      "To put the new players at ease, The Circle has put a mysterious box in everyone's apartment. But don't worry, it's just a welcome pack!"</em>
</p>
<p>     Jack is the first we see open the box to reveal a plethora of crafting supplies. "Aw, what's up! We're gonna do some crafting in here! Is there glitter?" The video cuts to Lena opening the box to reveal foam letters and friendship bracelets. She snorts and instead opens up her suitcase. <em> "She didn't....There's no way." </em> The video continues showing her pulling out several folders and stacks of papers from her suitcase. <em>"Did she bring WORK into The Circle?! Is she just determined not to have fun? While everybody but Lena is getting turned up, our newest contestant is getting ready to turn the tables."</em></p>
<p>     The camera cuts to a young woman in a leather jacket moving her coffee table across the room, it's legs scraping against the floor as she pushed it, "Why is this so heavy? It does not need to be this heavy." She's sitting against a red back drop, leaned back in her chair with her ankles crossed in front of her. "My favorite emoji? The poop emoji. It's the only one I really use. If I see someone left their dog poop out on the ground, sometimes i'll take a picture of that and send it instead." There are a couple of serious looking shots of the tiny brunette trying to look intimidating. "Hi, my name is Maggie, I'm 28 and I am a detective from Gotham." Picture of a cute Hispanic girl, no more than 11 start scrolling behind her. "I do alot of work with Vice and Cyber-crimes for the past 9 months or so I've been running the social media account of a 10 year old girl in order to try and catch predators. Because of my job I end up seeing alot of the negative and dangerous aspects of social media. But I like to think that it's not all bad, there are definitely positive aspects we've used Facebook in order to identify criminals and people sharing their stories online helps us notice trends and hold everybody accountable for their actions. As someone who's entire job is to be somebody else online, in The Circle, I'm just me." The video cuts to Maggie on her couch opening up her own box, "Aw hell yeah, they gave us booze!"</p>
<p>
  <em>      "That's right Maggie, and in your hand, that mini-Champagne looks like a regular bottle. Let's see what our next player has to say about the box."</em>
</p>
<p>     A tall handsome man is christening the new apartment with his bottle of champagne, "That right there is how you do it!" He takes a long swig before immediately stepping into the spilled champagne, "Now I gotta clean this up." His intro reel starts with him standing tall with his arms crossed smiling like a toothpaste commercial. Hi my name is James, I'm 29 and I'm the visual director of a fashion magazine. I've traveled the world as a photo journalist and now I get to use my experiences to help bring people together, in the most common language, the visual language. The screen flips through selfies of him in war zones and on safaris before cutting back to him now in his pristine button-down and slacks. "I'm really easy going, I try not to be really over-bearing online, I'm not that guy who's going to fill your feed with pictures of a new car. If I could describe myself in any way, I'd say different. I'm just different, I like to do things using my head, rather than my penis. That-that's different right? I have been cat-fished before that's just because I'm so trusting and so genuine, but I am not taken. I am single and won't feel guilty about flirting in The Circle. I'm gonna do anything it takes to win." It cuts back to him in the kitchen on his hands and knees wiping up the spilled alcohol, "Now I feel stupid."</p>
<p>
  <em>      "James may be will to do whatever it takes to win, but we have one more contestant going for gold in The Circle. And remember how we said anyone could be anyone?"</em>
</p>
<p>     The camera cuts to a woman, peering the nutrition labels off the food in the kitchen. "God, I am getting so old. What does this say?" Her video reel starts with her perched on a stool against a blue background. "Hi I'm Alex Danvers -"</p>
<p>     The video scratches to a stop like something from The Emperor's New Groove, <em>"Does that sound familiar to you? It should..."</em></p>
<p>     The video picks back up where it left off. "-and I am Kara Danvers' sister. I am 29 and a doctor in National City. I am here for one reason and one reason only and that is to screw with Kara. Which is why, I am not playing as myself. I am playing as my friend Mark Sloan. My sister is an amazing reporter, and it terrifies me the lengths that she has gone in order to fact-check for a story. But when it comes to her social media, all of her accounts are public and she just assumes everyone is who they say they are. Since she is so sure that catfishes never get ahead, I am here to prove her wrong. I might not do anything it takes to win, but I will do anything it takes to mess with my sister." The video goes back to Alex in the kitchen with a loaf of bread at the end of her fully extended arm, "Oh my god, I'm turning into mom....Thank god Kara can't see this."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Hello, Circle!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Check it out: https://ishouldwritemorestuff.tumblr.com/post/614114890350804992/the-circle-au</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
  
  
</p><p><em> "Okay, all our users are in."  </em>Kara is at her coffee table making friendship bracelets while Jack seems to be examining the foam alphabet letters from the Welcome Box.  "<em>And now that they've set up their profiles"  </em>James sinks his teeth into a truly enormous sandwich at his kitchen table before the screen shows Lena hunched over a file on her own table.  <em>"It's time to do what 100% of social media users do. Judge other people's profiles."  </em>All screens in The Circle flash blue as an ALERT appears. </p><p>      Winn hops off the couch, his Lego Death Star now complete "Aww yeah baby, time to do what we do best baby!"</p><p>      Alex looks up from her cooking, "Finally, we are getting somewhere".</p><p>      PLAYERS, the screen reads, IT'S TIME FOR THE FIRST RATINGS.</p><p>      The camera cuts to Kara standing directly in front of the screen, "WHAT?! We just got here!  HOW?!"</p><p>      Meanwhile Jack is back, once again lounging on the couch, fully ready to judge.  "Heck yes, Miss Circle, let's do this!"  YOU MUST RANK YOUR FELLOW PLAYERS FROM FAVORITE TO LEAST FAVORITE.</p><p>      The camera cuts to Lena, half-hidden behind a mountain of papers on her desk.  FIRST POSITION WILL BE YOUR FAVORITE PLAYER AND SEVENTH POSITION WILL BE YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PLAYER.  "Seven always was my lucky number," she mumbles, reading this.</p><p>       Maggie is on the couch cutting off bits of an apple with her knife, "gah, this is like high school all over again."  ONCE EVERYONE HAS RATED, THE TOP TWO PLAYERS WILL BECOME THE CIRCLE INFLUENCERS AND WILL HOLD GREAT POWER.  The screen's message clears and in it's place the players see all eight profiles.  Kara squeals and quickly dances in the corner, but Maggie stands from the couch and moves closer, squinting at the screen, "What's with this hetro-white bullshit?  Seriously?  Eight players and there's 2, maybe 3 people of color?  We gotta work on this."</p><p>      <em>"</em>Miss Circle, please take me to James' profile."  When the picture expands, showing off James' pearly whites and mostly unbuttoned shirt, Jack let's out a little gasp, "Single?  Hello?"  He leans in closer to read the attached bio, "I am a visual director by trade but photojournalist by heart, my father is my hero, and my motto is good food, good friends, good life."  Jack leans back into the ouch once more, "Okay James, honey, you got my attention."</p><p>        Kara has dragged her kitchen table over closer to the screen and has a notebook open in front of her, a very serious look on her face.  "Circle, please open Mark's profile."  As Mark's profile fills her screen, Kara can't help but let out an, "awwww, he looks so nice.  And he's a doctor!  My sister's a doctor! Maybe I can set them up!"  She's grinning from ear to ear as she starts scribbling in her notebook. </p><p>       Winn is carefully inspecting the profiles, "Oooo Adam...I can see Lyra flirting with Adam to get his vote.  Alright, Circle, open Adam's profile!"  He steps forward, mumbling to himself as he reads, "'New York born and bred, I'm a Bartender with a heart of gold, and a proud Momma's boy.'  Alright Adam, I see you.  I like that smile, c'mon and slide into these DM's so i can get your vote."</p><p>      Alex settles down in front of the TV with a full plate of pasta, "Circle, pull up my sister's profile."  As Kara's picture fills the screen Alex drops her fork.  "Kara....Kara, why?  You have-you have so many beautiful pictures and you chose THAT as your profile?  Have I taught you nothing?"  Alex drops her head down for a moment before refocusing.  "You're bio's not bad:  'Reporter from National City, I love food as much as I love life and I can't wait to meet everyone!'  I would say it's weirdly cheerful but honestly I didn't expect anything less.  But I am never letting you live that photo down."  She punctuates this statement with her fork, jabbing it at her TV screen.</p><p>             Adam is shirtless and styling his hair as he looks over Lyra's profile,  "Oh my god, you're so pretty.  There's no way your real but you are so pretty.  Look at that smile.  God if you love me, let me get lucky just this once!  She's pretty, but she's shy, so I gotta ease my way into it.  I gotta lay down the ground work before I rush in and scare her off.  It's a cat and mouse game. Cat and mouse.  Oh yeah buddy, I'm gonna win this!"</p><p>     "Circle,"  Maggie says, sounding slightly confused, "Open Lena's profile." She steps closer to the screen before letting out a bark of laughter, "No fucking way.  Ladies and Gentleman, we have our first catfish!"  She turns to the camera and looking into it says, "If anyone online TELLS you they are a celebrity, they are lying, more often than not, those people want to fly under the radar, if they have a non-verified account they will not give personal information from the account of any form.  This person is using the name a picture of Lena Luthor, Lex Luthor's little sister.  Why they want to play as her is beyond me, but this is definitely not the real Lena.  Last I checked she was a billionaire, why the fuck would she be here?  Think smart and stay safe kids."  With a knowing nod to the camera that is dripping with dramatic irony, the video cuts over to Lena in her apartment.</p><p>     She has finally left her paperwork and has Jack's profile open, she dispassionately reads off, "Hello, Hello, My name is Jack but you can call me Queen.  I am a graphic designist from London and last but not least, a straight up hustler."  She pulls back for a moment, clearly surprised but she perks up a bit as she says,  "Oh, you're English.  I'm Irish originally but I'll try not to hold it against you.  I do like you're style though.  I could see us being friends if we met in the real world.  I like you.  You've got my vote, until i get out of here at least."</p><p>     James is lifting weights in his apartment, biceps rippling in his tank top, "Circle open up Maggie's profile... please."  He doesn't pause his reps as he reads her profile, "You're pretty, and you're a detective so you're probably smart.  I like how you say you don't put up with  🐮 <a href="https://emojipedia.org/pile-of-poo/">💩</a> .  That's cute.  I don't know if we'd have alot to talk about, but I like your vibe.  I might have to worry about you later in game, because I feel like you're the type to strategize, so I'm going to keep my eye on you, but for right now, I like you.  I like you until you become a threat, that may not seem genuine, but it means I respect you.  I don't trust you, but I like you."</p><p>     As the last profile is reviewed, all the screens in The Circle change, taking the players to the ratings.  Lena is standing in front of the screen, "Circle, please open the ratings and place me in last."  As the screen changes, her expression falls, "Where's my picture?  Can we not rate ourselves?  We should be able to rate ourselves.  Fine, Jack is my #1, and everyone else can go wherever.  Actually, Kara seems excited to be here, put her second, help her out before I get voted off."</p><p>    Meanwhile Kara has left her kitchen table and is now pacing furiously with her notebook, "Why does this have to be so hard?  I don't want to vote anyone off, you all seem so nice!  I can't believe I have to rate you before I even meet you!  Okay, okay fine.  Instead of who do I want to vote off, maybe I should think about it as who I want safe.  Lena seems like she needs a hug, so I definitely don't want her to get voted off, it would be like kicking a sad puppy, and I want Mark safe so I can see if he and Alex would be a good match.  And - I want everyone safe!  Why can't everyone just be safe in The Circle?  I know that's not the game, but still.  Okay, okay I can do this.  I have to do this."</p><p>     Alex is standing with her arms folded, "So, I maybe didn't think this through.  I honestly don't know if I want to help Kara or destroy her.  If she gets voted out in the first round, that would be hilarious, but I think it would be even better if this was a slow burn kind of torture, like I drag it out, get her to trust me and then I tank her; it might even have the added lesson to not trust people you meet online.  And Kara's profile picture means I shouldn't have to worry about her getting too powerful and actually winning if I help her in the beginning.  Okay Circle, Kara is my number 1, cuz I got to stand by my sister until I'm ready to destroy her.  And I'm going to go ahead and put Adam at number 7, because I feel like he's a fuckboy, and that's kind of my angle.  This Circle isn't big enough for the two of us."</p><p>     Adam is still shirtless as he proclaims, "Lira-Lyra, whatever her name is-is my number one!  What can I say?  She's pretty, she's blonde, it makes me sound shallow, but I'm a weak man, what can I do?"</p><p>     Winn is hunkered down in front of his TV, "Alright, here is where we need to be strategic.  We haven't had the chance to form alliances yet so I have to consider what little information I have to determine the people I think I can manipulate and keep in my little box of trust.  I'm tempted to put James or Adam in my top two because I feel like they'd be easy to manipulate, but I also feel like they would kinda be players, and I don't want them using that to their advantage or some other girl stealing them away from me later in the game.  So maybe I want to try and align myself more with the ladies than with the men.   Sisters before misters and all that.  I like Maggie, she's tells it like it is.  And I think she's probably going to be super blunt but not necessarily go and look for trouble.  I like that and I think we'd be good together.  Circle, put Maggie as my number 1."</p><p>      Maggie doesn't hesitate with her decision as she finishes chewing her apple, "Put Lena at number 7, Adam at 6, James at 5, Mark at 4, Lyra at 3, Kara at 2, and Jack at 1.  I gotta go with my gut, and my gut says he's gay."</p><p>      "Alright Miss Circle, honey, let's put James as our number 1 as a thank you for that semi-shirtless pic, and you know what, put Lena as my number 2, because she seems like a bad bitch and I love that energy."  </p><p>      James is now working his left arm as he does his rankings, "Alright circle, let's shake this up.  Put Mark as my number one, cuz he's handsome, he's a doctor, seems like a cool dude, I could see us being friends if we met at the gym or something.  And make Lyra my number 2, she’s cute, she seems funny and I like that, I respect that.  Put Maggie as my number 3, cuz I don’t wanna give her too much power right out the gate.”</p><p>     Lena is already back to her paperwork when she says, "Circle, submit my ratings."</p><p>     But Kara and Winn are pacing nervously as the screen shows their video feeds side-by-side and they say, "Submit my ratings."  in almost perfect unison.</p><p>    RATINGS COMPLETE, the screens in The Circle flash, as everyone (except Lena) simultaneously let out a sigh of relief and wait to see what happens next. "<em>And with that, ratings are done.  The players will find out the results later."  </em>our narrator says as we see a wide shot of the apartment complex.  <em>“Who’s going to be first? Who’s going to be worst?”  </em>All the players come onto frame, isolated in their boredom as they get comfortable in their new homes, <em>“And when the hell is Lena going to do something interesting?”  </em>The camera pans over their apartment building once more as Lucy continues, <em>“While the players wait for the results, it’s time for The Circle to get social!”</em></p><p>A notification appears on the screen CIRCLE CHAT IS NOW OPEN.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>oof.  This is the first thing I've posted, let me know if y'all like it and I'll keep working on it.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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